@narendramodi Howdy Houston! It’s a bright afternoon here in Houston. Looking forward to a wide range of programmes in this dynamic and energetic city today and tomorrow.

@narendramodiIt is impossible to come to Houston and not talk energy! Had a wonderful interaction with leading energy sector CEOs. We discussed methods to harness opportunities in the energy sector. Also witnessed the signing of MoU between Tellurian and Petronet LNG.

@ANI#WATCH United States: PM Narendra Modi arrives in Houston, Texas. He has been received by Director, Trade and International Affairs, Christopher Olson and other officials. US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster and Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla also present.

This is the 3rd time PM Modi will be addressing a massive gathering of Indians or Indian origin people in the US. The story started with the address in the Madison Square Garden in NYC.

The salient features of this address:

50,000 Indians/ Indian origin people to attend the gathering.

Donald Trump, the President of the US to join Mr. Modi in addressing the gathering.

This is the first such massive address outside of India after the abolition of Article 370 in J&K.

This is happening in the energy capital of the world in Houston.

The roughly three-hour-long event is being organised at the sprawling NRG Football Stadium, one of the largest in the US.

140 Buses carrying 7000 Indian-Americans from all over Texas have already started arriving at NRG Stadium for ‘Howdy, Modi’ event.

Baloch, Sindhi, Pashto groups gather in Houston to seek help from Modi and Trump

Good Luck to Modi, the Indian Community in the US and all Global Indians!

“The step to cut corporate tax is historic. It will give a great stimulus to #MakeInIndia, attract private investment from across the globe, improve competitiveness of our private sector, create more jobs and result in a win-win for 130 crore Indians,” Modi said in a tweet.

The step to cut corporate tax is historic. It will give a great stimulus to #MakeInIndia, attract private investmen… https://t.co/OHuGEcA9Dq— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday delivered a major tax bonanza to domestic businesses and manufacturing firms, lowering corporate tax rates to one of the lowest levels in Southeast Asia and allowing new manufacturers to avail minimum corporate tax at 15 per cent.

Sitharaman said the revenue foregone on reduction in corporate tax and other relief measures will be Rs 1.45 lakh crore annually, which means a $20 billion booster to an economy.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

FM proposes to slash corporate tax for domestic companies

Lower corp tax only if no exemption availed

Effective tax rate will now be 25.17, including surcharge and cess

Effective tax rate for new manufacturing companies at 17.01%

Amid growing concerns over the economic slowdown, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of tax exemptions at the GST Council Meet on Friday.

Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to slash corporate tax for domestic companies and new local manufacturing companies through an ordinance.

In a major fiscal booster, the government on Friday slashed effective corporate tax to 25.17 per cent inclusive of all cess and surcharges for domestic companies.

Making the announcement, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the new tax rate will be applicable from the current fiscal which began on April 1.

“We today propose to slash the corporate tax rates for domestic companies and for new domestic manufacturing companies,” the finance minister said at the meeting.

Nirmala Sitharaman said the revenue foregone on reduction in corporate tax and other relief measures will be Rs 1.45 lakh crore annually.

This, she said is being done to promote investment and growth.

“Tax concessions will bring investments in Make in India, boost employment and economic activity, leading to more revenue,” the finance minister said in Goa.

In effect, the corporate tax rate will be 22 per cent for domestic companies, if they do not avail any incentive or concession.

The changes in the Income Tax Act and Finance Act will be made effective through an ordinance.

The finance minister also said companies opting for 22 per cent income tax slab would not have to pay minimum alternative tax (MAT).

Nirmala Sitharaman further said, new domestic manufacturing companies incorporated after October 1, can pay income tax at a rate of 15 per cent without any incentives.

Meaning, the effective tax rate for new manufacturing companies will be 17.01 per cent inclusive of all surcharge and cess.

Nirmala Sitharaman further said companies can opt for lower tax rate after the expiry of tax holidays and concessions that they are availing now.

Other measures

The government has also decided to not levy enhanced surcharge introduced in Budget on capital gain arising from the sale of equity shares in a company liable for securities transaction tax (STT).

Also, the super-rich tax will not apply on capital gains arising from the sale of any security including derivatives in hands of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).

In another relief, the minister said listed companies which have announced a buyback of shares prior to July 5, will not be charged with super-rich tax.

The companies have now also been permitted to use their 2 per cent CSR spend on incubation, IITs, NITs, and national laboratories.

Boost for economy

The new corporate tax cuts are expected to boost economic growth, which slipped to a six-year low of 5% in the April-June quarter.

Finance ministry officials have warned that the economic slowdown has led to lower tax collections, and they may have to utilize an extra dividend of nearly 580 billion rupees this year from the central bank to fund budgeted spending.

The government would have to resort to spending cuts in the January-March quarter because of a fall in tax collections and stiff fiscal deficit target for this year, the sources said.

On Friday, Nirmala Sitharaman accepted that the tax cuts will impact India’s fiscal deficit. “We are conscious of effect tax rebate will have on the fiscal deficit; we will reconcile numbers,” she said at the GST Council Meet.

As the government seeks to keep liquidity flowing, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged banks on Thursday to increase lending to small businesses and retail borrowers to spur spending ahead of the final quarter festive season.

The name “Cauvery” literally means “one who brings abundance.” But this once mighty river is mighty no more.

In the last year, the suffering of farmers and their suicides in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the Cauvery basin, have made national headlines. The depletion of Cauvery and the distress of farmers are two manifestations of the same problem.

Cauvery’s Depletion

Cauvery has depleted over 40% in the last 70 years

87% of the basin’s original tree cover has been lost

During the summer, Cauvery is unable to reach the ocean

70% of Cauvery basin’s soil suffers erosion

Farmer Distress

83% of farmers in Tamil Nadu and 77% of farmers in Karnataka are in debt

17 districts in Tamil Nadu were drought-hit in 2019

15 of the last 18 years have been drought years in Karnataka

Almost half the Cauvery basin suffers critical groundwater depletion

Why Cauvery Is Dying

Cauvery, like almost all rivers in India, is forest-fed. Historically, this region was covered in forests and tree cover. The soil was constantly replenished with nutrients and organic matter by animal waste and plant litter. Organic matter allowed the soil to absorb water, and thus feed Cauvery.

As Trees Disappear…Growing human populations and inefficient agriculture practices have led to an extreme loss of tree cover and the soil is no longer sufficiently replenished. The soil no longer absorbs water efficiently and suffers erosion instead. The soil, having lost its ability to retain water, is unable to sustain Cauvery. As a result, the river is drying up. The falling water levels and dying soil are taking a devastating toll on our farmers, who suffer failed harvests and crippling debt.

Saving Cauvery

To reverse this dire situation, revitalize Cauvery, rejuvenate the soil, and improve farmers’ income, Cauvery Calling will support farmers to plant 242 crore trees. It is estimated that these 242 crore trees will increase water retention in Cauvery basin by about 40%.

One of things that I see in India is really absolutely no updates on city development from the mayors of the cities. The Mayors are elected representatives but they are completely over-shadowed by the political parties on the name of which they win. Any developments for the cities are announced by the chief ministers or the state minister responsible for the various departments of governance.

What I envisage is that the city Mayors along with his councillors conduct their city as a CEO conducts a corporation. Every year the city needs to present and publish its results. The earnings and the expenditure along with debt and other details. Similar to a budget speech, they need to present a program for the city and the development to be undertaken. Media and civil society should get a chance to ask about the various issues and progress of the ongoing projects and activities. This would provide transparency and also give impetus to proper planning and implementation of various projects by the city authorities.

Since, a lot of revenue is being generated by some global cities, their well being needs to be also given due care.

Especially in a country like India which has been having a tremendous boom over the last few decades, a lot more urban planning, green spaces, parks, beautification of residential area, upgrading of slums needs to have a huge focus other than building massive infra projects.

It is essential to have equitable growth and opportunities for different sections of society to have a flourishing city with less crime.

Hope the organisation and execution by the city authorities grows t o a corporate format with quarterly results and yearly appraisals to determine their credit ratings to raise debt or other purposes, so there is also sufficient pressure to ensure proper facilities to the urban citizens across the world!

NagsWags offerings are carefully curated products from around the internet at attractive prices

NagsWags is an online store that offers a variety of products in multiple categories at exciting prices The website features carefully curated items from leading manufacturers around the globe and offers them to customers in Australia and other countries at competitive prices. The customers can find products in categories like Women’s dresses and accessories, Kids and Hobbies, Beauty and Health, Computers and Mobiles, Home furnishings, Men’s clothing and more.

NagsWags is a vast shopping website that offers something for everyone. Whether someone is looking for a Multifunctional electric back shoulder kneading massager pillow, 3d nail art decals, some ultralight sneakers for women, 3 way HDMI splitter or gardening tools, they can find on NagsWags.com. In the Women dresses and accessories category, the customers can find earrings, shoes, jewelry organizer, handbags and more at amazing prices. The mermaid tail blanket, Bohemian style Hippie pants, and Plaid retro skinny pants are a few products to look out for.

In the beauty and health category, one can find makeup products like the eyeshadow palette, brushes, and more. The Cuban Zirconium stud earring set is one of the popular items in this category. For those who are looking for some cool and useful gadgets can check out the Computers and Mobile section that offers products like USB vacuum cleaner for cleaning computer keyboard,the optical zoom lens for smartphone, 3 way HDMI splitter and others.

The Home and Gardening section also has some very interesting products to offer like the portable hammock, the Umbrella cover for covering food and other items in the kitchen, Elephant stick on wall adhesive hooks, plastic ladybug toothpaste holder, etc. In addition to offering a wide range of products, the website keeps offering regular discounts and special products under categories like ‘Mother’s day specials’ so the customers can get the best deal.